Dress form



Nov. 29, 1932. HOFFMAN 1,889,659

DRES S FORM Original Filed Jan. 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A/am HOFFMH/I/ INVENTOR ATTORN EY WITNESS:

DRESS FORM Original Filed Jan. 20, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV-ENTOR 21 22 BY 61/0441 I o I 20 I ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 29, 1932 UNITED STATES NORA. HOFFMAN, or new YORK,-N. Y.

DRESS FORM Application filed January 20, 1923, Serial No. 248,201. Renewed June17, 1931.

the size and shape of a particular person toassure an accurate measurement and fit by dressmakers in the making of a ladys garment.

Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable dress form which includes an inflatable form body for receiving an adjustable form jacket, which jacket is first applied to a person for whom a dress is to be made and adjusted to conform to the size and shape of the person, after which it is removed and applied to the infiatablebody and the same inflated to fill out the same, which results in a dress form of a shape and size corresponding to the person and to which the dress to be made is fitted during the making thereof. I

A further object is the provision of a dress form which embodies a form jacket having pleats suitably arranged therein for the purpose of allowing a limited adjustment to fit figures of different sizes and shapes, and

which pleats may be taken in and held by suitable lacing for maintaining thegarment in an adjusted position after its removal from a person whose body measurements are required for dressmaking purposes.

A still further object is the provision of an adjustable dress form which is easy to '35 adjust and move from place to place, and

which can be taken apart and stored awav in a minimum amount of space.

With these and other objects in view, the

invention resides in certain novel construc- 740 tion and combination and arrangement of parts, the essential features of which are hereinafter fully described, are particularlypointed out in the appended claims, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

which Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of the inflatable form body.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the adjustable form jacket in a flat condition. v

Figure 5 is a detail horizontal sectional viewthrough one of the box pleats.

Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal sec tional view on the line 66 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is'a detail vertical sectional view on the line 7- 7 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a detail horizontal sectional view showing the manner of fastening the form body to its supporting platform.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral '10designates m'yfiimproved dress 55 formin its entirety which includes an inflatable form body 11 supported upon a stand 12. The form body 11 is constructed of an inner rubber bladder 13 and is of the general shape of a wo-mans bust or torso. The same is capable of being distended to various po- I sitions which is limited by an outer covering of inelastic material 14 to be hereinafter fully explained. I

The inflatable body 11 has an air pressure valve 15 suitably arranged in the wall thereof and permits of the inflation of the form by the use of a bicycle pump or the like, and which normally prevents the escape of air from the body but which may be manually actuated to release the same for deflation purposes. The inner bladder 13 has a central longitudinal tubular portion 16, the walls of which converge upwardly as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. The outer covering 14 is also provided with a tubular portion 16 corresponding to the general shape of the tubular'portion 16 and extends therethrough.

The bottom edges of the outer fabric covering are free and are provided with male fas tening elements 17 for co-action with female elements on-the stand 12 which will-be hereinafter fully described.

The stand 12 comprises abase18 fromwhich atubular rod or standard 19 rises. The tubular rod may be threaded into the base to facilitate its removal therefrom for packing and storage purposes. Slidably' mounted in p the tubular rod is a second tubular rod20 of a smaller diameter and which is held in vari- 7 ing 41.

the same. The side peripheral edge of the platform and top facethereof is provided with female elements to receive the male elements 17 whereby the form is removably held upon the platform. The male and female elements shown in the drawings represent snap fasteners but any other suitable fastening means may be provided if desired, such as hooks and eyes or the like. 'VVhen assembling the form upon the platform for use, the fastening elements are connected before inflation of the body and the rod 23 inserted through the tubular passage and screwed into the top end of the rod 20.

The bust portion of the bladder is open from front to back to provide a passage for flexible tie cords 26 which tend to shape and secure the outer covering 14: to the inflatable bladder. The tie cords also hold the tubular portion 16 snug against the rod 23.

In practice, the inflatable bladder is constructed to enable inflation of the same to any size, while several outer coverings may be provided for use in connection therewith, each of which is capable of use for a predetermined number of different sizes, such as for instance, when the form is for use as a 32 to 36, an outer covering Which'will allow inflation of the form to these sizes and any intermediate sizes will be applied. Briefly, theouter covering limits inflation of the form body to a predetermined size. However, the correct size desired is obtained by the attachment of a form jacket 27 which will now be described.

The form jacket 27 comprises an adjustable garment having a front piece 28 provided with an inverted box pleat 29 extending the length thereof, side pieces 30 having similar inverted box pleats 31 extending the length thereof, and back pieces 32 and 33 having hooks and eyes 34: and 35 respectively provided on their longitudinal free edges. The back piece 33 has an inverted box pleat 36 extending thelength thereof. The free edges of all the inverted box pleats are provided with eyelets 37 for receiving laces 38 by which the pleats may be taken in or let out when fitting the jacketto a wearer. The side pieces 30 are provided with armholes 39 while the top edge of the j acketisshaped to fit over the shoulders of a person and may be adjusted thereto by providing eyelets &0

alon the to, ed 'e to receive shoulder lac- PJ D In actual practice the jacket 27 is applied to the person. for whom a dress is to be made, whereupon the same is buttoned up the back by fastening the co-acting hooks and eyes 34 and 35. The lacings are then pulled tight which shapes the jacket to the body form of the person. By reason of the location of the adjustable pleats,,the jacket may be accurately and snugly fitted to the person, whereupon it is removed by unfastening the hooks and eyes'3 l and 35, without disturbing the lacings. The jacket is next applied to the inflatable form, and the form inflated until the jacket is fully expanded. r

A. replica of the form of the person is therefore provided and may be used forobtaining the desired measurementsin the making of a garment and for fitting the garment thereto during the making of the same. It will be understood that the jackets may be made to fit forms of a limited amount of sizes, but it is believed that two jackets will be capable of adjustment to all size persons. One jacket may be made for adjustment from a small size to an average size, while a second jacket may be made to fitpersons from an average size to an extremely large size. The adjust ments of the jackets compensate for any intervening sizes.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided an adjustable dress form which may be accurately adjusted to the form of the person, for whom a dress is to be made and which may be taken apart when not in use for packing and storing pur poses.

While I have described what I deem to be the most desirable embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that many of the details may be varied without in any way departing from the spirit of my invention, and I therefore do not limit myself to the exact details of construction herein set forth nor to anything less than the whole of my invention limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is 1. A dress form comprising in combination with a platform, a fabric member having an outer tubular wall and an inner tubular wall, said fabric joined at the top between said walls, the inner walls thereby providing a tube open at the top, the bottom edge of said inner wall turned outwardly and removably attached to thetop of said platform, the bottom edge of said outer wall turned inwardly and removably attached to the periphery of said platform, a rod rising from said platform and disposed within the tube of the inner wall to support the latter, and a continu ous inflatable member having also outer and inner tubular wallsv and disposed within said first tubular walls, said latter member having a valve therein, the latter projecting through said fabric member, whereby said inner memher is inflatable, substantially as and for the purpose described. a

2. The method of reproducing the shape of the human body in a dress form which comprises the application of a jacket to the body of the subject, then connecting the jacket along the open edge, then lacing in the jacket to the contour of the body of the subject, then separating the jacket at the open edge and removing it from the subject, then connecting the open edge, and finally inserting an inflat able element in the jacket and inflating it to extend the jacket to assume the contour given it by the adjustment of the lacing while on the body of the subject.

3. The method of reproducing the shape of the human body in a dress form which comprises the application of a jacket to the body of the subject, then taking up the jacket at a I different points to adjust it to the contour of the body of the subject, then removing it from the subject without disturbance to said adj ustments, and finally placing it on an inflatable form and inflating the latter to efiect extension of the jacket to assume the contour given to it by the takeup adjustments made while on the body of the subject.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

NORA HOFFMAN. 

